Purgatory Not so much
by JPKisses
Summary: The Cullen's are starting another boring, repetitive, normal year of high school. Or are they? Takes place about 6 1/2 years after Breaking Dawn. R&R!


_**A/N: These characters aren't mine, except for the Kevin's and Katrina's and the Tom, Dick, and Harry's. I'm not quite sure where this story is going yet, but if I get enough reviews of my writing style so far, I may be able to stretch this into something good.**_

Purgatory, sleep, the inert state between active periods. Isn't that what I had compared high school to before?

_Wow. Who are they…?_

_New students…_

_Oh my gosh, they are absolutely gorgeous…_

I rolled my eyes at the same thoughts I'd heard for over a century buzzing through my head. You would think the human kind would evolve just a little bit within the last hundred years but no, still the same.

_So anything different? _I heard Emmett ask me

"Same old, same old," I murmured quickly under my breath, knowing that only my family would hear me. We had all decided to enroll in high school yet again, but at different times. We didn't want to shock the student body and faculty out of their senses just yet. Rose, Jasper and Alice had registered yesterday. Emmett, Bella, Ness and I were registering today.

I was nervous and a little on edge, not because of the situation. Lord knows I'd done this enough times, but I was nervous because this was the first time Bella and Renesmee were part of our charade. Bella seemed enough at ease, but she still had trouble doing the human thing. Every 17 seconds she would blink, and every 184 seconds she would run her fingers through her hair, or scratch her arm mindlessly. She put herself on a schedule and I found it amusing and completely arousing…

_Oh my, these must be the rest of them._

I turned my attention to the middle aged woman at the desk, staring with her mouth open. I could see her remembering the others from yesterday and seeing the resemblance despite the foster parent story she'd been given. Her thoughts didn't stray anywhere that needed to be of concern and I let myself breathe a small sigh of relief. I opened my mouth to speak, trying my best to 'dazzle' as Bella had once put it.

"Mrs. Nash…?" I asked hesitantly despite already know who she was. "I was told you would have our schedules for this semester." I furrowed my brow at the sudden direction her thoughts were taking. I was playing the part of a 15 year old. You would think that she would have better control of her fantasies for crying out loud!

"Yes , of course. You're…?"

"Edward Cullen. And this is my sister and older brother, Renesmee and Emmett Cullen." Bella stayed behind some as Nessie and Emmett stood beside me. Mrs. Nash's eyes widened and I could see that Emmett's wide grin had frightened her.

"Lay up, Emmett!" I hissed much too fast. Mrs. Nash didn't hear me, but Nessie did and she let out a peal of laughter. It helped and the woman quickly forgot about Emmett as she immediately warmed to Renesmee, as most people usually did. She gave us our schedules and directions to our classes. She looked up in confusion at the extra schedule in her hand.

"Isabella Swan?"

"Bella." I corrected as Bella stepped out gracefully from behind me. Despite the fact that I didn't take kindly to her reverting back to her maiden name, I knew it was necessary. I couldn't pull her off as my sister, there was no way I'd be able to keep my hands off her, or stop the lovelorn looks on my face. This town was bigger so we weren't too concerned over the drama we normally would have created in a small town.

"Right then, welcome to Fairbanks High School. Hope you enjoy it here." I scowled again at Mrs. Nash's fantasies over me, but I let it go. I was more concerned with the sudden interest a blonde jock had taken with my daughter.

_Woah, look at the legs on her! She must be a freshmen…_

I clenched my teeth together in anger but tuned him out. I was going to have to learn to deal if I was going to make it through the school year. I felt Bella's hand clasp in mine.

_Edward. What's wrong?_

I was already used to hearing Bella now, though I still found it frustrating because it was only at her convenience. I didn't know which was worse, not being able to hear her because I couldn't or not being able to hear her because she didn't want me to.

I shook my head and sighed. I needed to get used to the attention Renesmee was no doubt going to be receiving. No need in having Bella upset about it either.

Renesmee placed her hand against the back of Bella's neck and I saw what she was asking her.

"Well, I know when I was human I couldn't keep my eyes off them, they were so beautiful. So I assume the staring is only natural."

I saw Nessie ponder over that for awhile. At 6 ½ years of age, Nessie was at the maturity of a 16 year old. She was extremely intelligent. Much smarter than your average adult but there would be times when her naivety would show. I found it completely fascinating how her quick mind would turn over things in her head. Unlike us, she found the human race utterly fascinating so she would question and analyze everything about them. Her mind was a flutter as she took in her new surroundings and the people around her and for the first time in decades, I too, started to pay closer attention to those around me.

The kid that had been thinking quite inappropriately about her began walking toward us. I heard him give a second thought about that as he got a better look at us, his human instinct to self preserve unconsciously kicking in. I saw Nessie beam at him through his mind and that ultimately gave him the courage he needed to proceed.

"Hi. I'm Kevin. You must be the Cullens."

I saw him flinch slightly when Emmett gave him a wide grin, exposing the rows of his razor sharp teeth. I didn't feel the need to correct Emmett this time, and was a little pleased that Kevin now seemed truly afraid. No one spoke to him except for Renesmee.

"Hi! I'm Renesmee."

She squeezed out from between Bella and I -where we'd unconsciously frozen to stone in front of her- to shake his hand. My lips curled back in a snarl that I'd managed to keep silent, as his thoughts went haywire after grasping her hand. Nobody else moved to show the same courtesy and he didn't offer either. I could sense his discomfort despite Nessie's calming demeanor.

"Well if you…" He paused and frowned slightly at us- "guys need anything, I'm the man to ask." Again Renesmee took a half second to analyze his offer before answering.

"Sure, sure. See you around, Kevin." She replied brightly. I felt some confusion color her thoughts and I wondered why. No one else bothered to approach us, which was always fine with me, but I noticed that Nessie was aware of the way people ignored us, even downright avoiding us. Not because of her, of course. Never her.

We had all decided that Ness and Bella were not to have any classes alone, so one of us would always be with them. I was more concerned about Nessie then Bella. Bella had earned her Master's degree in English Literature at Dartmouth, so I wasn't worried about her interaction with humans, but that didn't change the fact that high school was very, very different from college.

Nessie and I had our first class together, Bella leaving us with a quick kiss and a parting memory meant only for me, again entirely at her convenience and walked with Emmett to their class. I let out a breath as I tried to hard not to focus on last night and Nessie cocked an eyebrow at me. She didn't think too much about it, she was used to Bella and I. if anything it's all she expected of us anyway.

I heard Ness get excited as she entered the classroom, eager to see more of human nature. You would think we'd kept her locked behind closed doors her whole life…

Ok maybe we did a little bit.

"Okay, time to take your seats. Class will begin shortly." _Wow! Look at them. They're 15 year olds? They didn't look like that when I went to high school. I can't believe I'm already trucking 40…_

Our English teacher's internal monologue lost my interest as I focused on Renesmee's reaction to the new atmosphere. She'd never been in a school setting and she was excited to learn. I paid no attention to our teacher, only nodding my head in acknowledgment when he called my name.

"Re…Ra…"

"Renesmee." Ness corrected as Mr. Molina struggled with its pronunciation. She beamed brightly at him, and it was as if he melted. First day of school and she'd already become the teacher's pet, albeit unconsciously.

Renesmee paid very close attention while I let my thoughts wander, keeping tabs on her and Bella throughout the class period. I noticed her attention shifting as she grew bored with his lecture, already hearing all of it before from her mother. I wasn't surprised when she started thinking about Jacob. I know she missed him, even though he would be there when we got home from school. Jacob had refused to sign up along with the rest of us. Even though he was a smart kid, he'd never had the patience for school. He had barely enough credits to even graduate and he swore he wouldn't go through that again. I had a feeling that wouldn't last very long.

Sure enough, after our English class, we saw Jacob coming out of the main office, with some papers in his hand. No doubt his schedule for the year.

"Jacob!" Ness exclaimed as she spotted him. He gave her a grin and opened his arms before she jumped right into them. I smiled at them. I had gotten used to the relationship between them and Jacob was always in tune with her, never a step ahead. They were at that lovey-dovey stage. A kiss or a touch here and there, never anything more and to my intense surprise, that didn't bother Jacob as much as I thought it would. He wanted whatever she wanted.

At 6'7, Jake was a monster, figuratively speaking, and he towered over the students and even the teachers. Of course, he was doing that bad boy thing. He wore a leather jacket, ripped jeans and boots, looking like the trouble maker he was. I heard Kevin before I saw him, taking in Jacob and the way he cradled Renesmee in his arms.

"Hey Edward!" Jake mock punched me on my shoulder. Well mock punch for me because I hardly felt anything. If he laid into anybody else like that, he'd probably break it.

"Jacob." I raised an eyebrow at him and he rolled his eyes.

_Okay, so a few repeats of some courses couldn't hurt. _

I let out a laugh and people turned to stare. Nessie had entwined her arm through Jacob's and was skimming through his schedule.

"We have almost every class together!" Jacob grinned at her and I just rolled my eyes. No need for my services then. Maybe I could rearrange my schedule to fit Bella's. I'm sure that won't be too difficult…

"Edward." Renesmee said sweetly. I scowled, but she quickly made up for it with her thoughts.

_Daddy…_

I was going to have to get used to her calling me Edward. There was no way she would be able to call me Dad here at school. I shouldn't let it bother me. Bella called Charlie by his name all the time and I knew she loved him more than anything. But still.

"So who's down for some physical education!" Jacob exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Jacob, we can't…"

"Hey, Edward, don't sweat it. I won't give it my all, don't worry."

Renesmee bounced lightly on her toes as she yanked Jacob's arm so they could head to class. I didn't have P.E. this hour, but Alice was going to so I knew she'd keep Ness and Jacob from completely slaughtering their new classmates.

I spotted Bella and Rosalie making their way toward me. Bella had a look of indifference on her face and I was dying to know what she was thinking. Rosalie had a small smirk, her thoughts completely surrounded around the fact that the boys couldn't keep their eyes off her.

I guess vampire evolution wasn't much better.

"Hey." Bella came and stood by my side. We gazed at each other for a few minutes in silence. It never ceased to amaze me how wretchedly in love with her I still was.

"What were you thinking?" Bella laughed out, the sounds of her tinkering laugh causing some students to turn and ogle. I bit back a growl.

"How much I love you."

"You wear a face of indifference when you think about how much you love me? I wish I could be so cool." The inner workings of her head never ceased to fascinate me and she let another giggle.

"Are you talking about earlier? I was thinking about how cool you all used to seem to me. So gorgeous and looking like you couldn't be bothered with the pettiness of high school. So I tried to be the same way."

So what was I saying before? Oh yeah, the inner workings of her mind fascinate me.

"Is it working?"

"Definitely. I'm too cool for school."

Again with the staring. I knew it was a good idea to keep her maiden name.

"Shall we?" I offered my hand and a thrill ran through me when she took it. This school year was going to be great.


End file.
